Chennai, Feb 2 (KNN) Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) is set to reintroduce the time-of-day (TOD) tariff for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) this year, as per official sources.

This decision comes after a three-month temporary waiver ordered by the state government following protests.

As part of the strategy, Tangedco has initiated the procurement of 20,000 smart meters for low-tension current transformer consumers by floating tenders.

An official stated, “Tangedco is facing a loss of Rs 196.10 crore per year due to uncollected TOD tariff, introduced to reduce the subsidy burden on the government. In November 2023, the government agreed to subsidise this amount until the smart metres are fully installed,” reported by TNIE.

The government has agreed to subsidise this amount until the complete installation of smart meters, starting with the submission deadline on March 1 and the opening scheduled for the following day.

Highlighting the challenges, a senior official stated that due to the financial crisis, the installation of smart meters for all consumers at once is impractical.

Consequently, Tangedco plans to gradually procure and install the meters, commencing with the first phase in Chennai in June.

The tariff implementation will commence as the meters are installed. The smart meter technology is expected to automate electricity charge calculations, connecting to the utility's servers, and delivering bill details via SMS to consumers.

Initially introduced in September 2022 for the MSME sector on par with high-tension consumers, the TOD tariff faced revisions from 25% to 15% after stakeholder representations.

However, protests from tiny industries led to a temporary withholding by the government. Former president of the Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association, K Mariyappan, urged the government to entirely remove the TOD tariff and fixed charges, even after smart meter installations.

(KNN Bureau)